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Not a snowflake can be seen in San Diego. (Irv Erdos \/ For The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\nWith gas prices down, my Brooklyn brother was happy to report that he pays less than $3 per gallon.<\/p>\n
Regrettably, here in San Diego, we\u2019re still paying considerably more.<\/p>\n
Apparently, that price difference provided yet another opportunity for my brother to repeat his familiar refrain suggesting I made a mistake moving to San Diego.<\/p>\n
Since I live in California, he maintained, it\u2019s costing me about $300 more per year for gas.<\/p>\n
So I asked him what the temperature in Brooklyn was.<\/p>\n
\u201cFourteen degrees,\u201d he grudgingly replied.<\/p>\n
But with the wind-chill factor, it was 10 below.<\/p>\n
I told him that here the temperature was 80, but with the wind-chill factor, it was still 80.<\/p>\n
I also learned that it was snowing there.<\/p>\n
He had to clear the mounting drifts from the many stairs that lead to his door.<\/p>\n
He applied salt to every step because the ice beneath the snow made it risky to attempt to climb them.<\/p>\n
So while he scatters salt to melt the ice, I told him we\u2019re more likely to use it to season fries.<\/p>\n
Not a snowflake can be seen in San Diego. (Irv Erdos \/ For The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
It used to take him about an hour of shoveling to free his car from several feet of drifts, but that\u2019s no longer a burden since his car was stolen.<\/p>\n
That theft would never have happened had his car been in a garage, but that assumes those multimillion-dollar homes in the area had one.<\/p>\n
After he clears and salts the steps, he stays in the house where it\u2019s warm.<\/p>\n
I told him that here we spent the day at the beach.<\/p>\n
But while it\u2019s fair to suggest that gas prices are considerably less in Brooklyn, the average price of a home there is about $3 million more.<\/p>\n
Not to mention, that multimillion-dollar home of his is attached on both sides, is only 18 feet wide, has no garage, and is located on a heavily trafficked street with bus fumes, while here, our single-story home sits on a half-acre, costs several million less, and is located on a quiet cul-de-sac.<\/p>\n
But although neither my brother nor his neighbors have any trees, I did read somewhere that a tree does grow in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
In truth, although my brother\u2019s property is devoid of vegetation, his street holds several leafless trees, which I would more accurately term kindling.<\/p>\n
I told him that our home includes a couple of avocado trees, several orange trees, lemons, peaches and apricots.<\/p>\n
Also a lush green lawn, and a vegetable garden.<\/p>\n
Although his property has no vegetation, he does grow basil in a flowerpot on his windowsill.<\/p>\n
Since his car was stolen, he uses the subway or a taxi to get around.<\/p>\n
I explained that for a fraction of those Brooklyn home prices, he could have a lovely single-story detached home here in sunny San Diego, along with a car, a garage, warm temperatures, a garden, trees, plus a location not far from the shore.<\/p>\n
Sadly, he declined my suggestion. I\u2019m not sure why.<\/p>\n
Maybe it\u2019s those low gas prices.<\/p>\n